NEW YORK -- Yannick Weber is expected to make his Penguins debut at Madison Square Garden tonight.
He spent a lot more time getting to this city than he has with his new teammates.
Weber, signed as a free agent because of the Penguins' numbers injuries on defense, said Saturday that he drove 10 hours from Nashville to Pittsburgh -- a trip made longer because of a snowstorm in Kentucky -- and then another six to Manhattan to meet up with the Penguins.
He went through a game-day skate this morning, and figures to be in uniform when the Penguins face the New York Rangers at 7:08 p.m.
That means he had perhaps a half-hour of on-ice preparation, since the Penguins were off Friday, to get acclimated to a new defense partner, new teammates and a new system.
"Although there are certain trends in the league, where a lot of teams are playing in a similar fashion, there are subtleties to everybody's game," Mike Sullivan said. "Priorities are different, and there are tactical differences. We'll work with (Weber) to try to get him up to speed, but we certainly don't want to give him too much information too soon, overload him with information. It's paralyzing -- or can be paralyzing -- in my experience."
Sullivan coached Weber for a season in Vancouver, where he was an assistant to John Tortorella, so he has a fairly good understanding of Weber's game.
"He's a good, solid player," Sullivan said. "He's got a big shot from the offensive blue line. He sees the ice pretty well. ... He's a good, solid two-way defenseman, so we're excited to have him in our group, especially under the circumstances we're under right now, from an injury standpoint.
"He's a real good pro. He works extremely hard. We think he's going to fit into our group really well."
Where exactly he will fit in immediately isn't clear. Weber figures to be one of five right-handed defensemen in the lineup tonight -- rookie P.O Joseph is the only lefty -- and might well end up playing on his off-side in his first game, which could complicate the other challenges he would face in adapting to a new team.
Weber, though, downplayed any serious concerns about having to do that.
"If it comes to that, there's just a couple of adjustments that you have to make," he said. "Certain reads are going to be a little bit different, certain angles are might be a little bit different. But it's something that, growing up, you played both sides and during your career, there are always incidents where you have to switch sides or you get swapped around in a shift."
One switch that Weber insists he is happy to make is playing with the Penguins, rather than against them. That includes a showdown with them in the 2017 Stanley Cup final, when he was playing for Nashville.
"I've had some bad memories facing them, so it's nice to be on this side now," he said. "I've been in the league for a long time now, and Pittsburgh, as long as I've been in the league, has always been a powerhouse. That's really hard to do as an organization for this long of a time.
"It's a great opportunity to be here, on a team that wants to win and has guys who have had success and are hungry for more."
MORE FROM PREGAME
• Sullivan said that Casey DeSmith will get the start in goal.
• Madison Square Garden coronavirus regulations bar media from attending game-day skates or practices, so we won't learn of any potential changes to personnel configurations until tonight.
• The Penguins are 4-0 at home, 0-3-1 on the road. Most teams fare better in familiar surroundings, but Bryan Rust dismissed the idea that away games pose any particular difficulty this season. "Obviously, there's a little bit more of a sense of comfort at home, but without any fans in the buildings, each building kind of feels similar. Those momentum shifts that a crowd might give you aren't there. ... Overall, in general, we're just looking to get better. We don't care whether we're at home."
• Sullivan said bottom-six center Teddy Blueger has earned extra ice time and responsibilities with strong play of late. "We thinks he's played well, and we think he's deserving of the increased ice time and the increased role that he's been given. That's why we've moved him into more of a significant role. Teddy's a good, solid two-way center iceman."